Species: Mustela frenata
Long-tailed Weasel
Species
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Encyclopedia of Puget Sound
Classification
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Craniata
Class
Mammalia
Order
Carnivora
Family
Mustelidae
Genus
Mustela
NatureServe
Classification
Other Global Common Names
Comedreja Andina - belette à longue queue
Informal Taxonomy
Animals, Vertebrates - Mammals - Carnivores
Formal Taxonomy
Animalia - Craniata - Mammalia - Carnivora - Mustelidae - Mustela
Ecology and Life History
Migration
true - false - false - Male home range is 10-160 ha, varying with location and prey availability; female range averages smaller than male range (Jackson 1961, Caire et al. 1989, Johnson et al. 1993). In Indiana, based on radio-tagged individuals, mean home range size (95% adaptive kernel contour area) was 51.8 ha for adult females and 180.3 ha for adult males (Gehring and Swihart 2004).
Non-migrant
true
Locally Migrant
false
Food Comments
Feeds primarily on small mammals, occasionally birds, other small vertebrates, and insects.
Reproduction Comments
Breeds July-August. Gestation lasts 205-337 days (average 279); implantation delayed. Litter size is 1-12 (average 4-7). In north, one litter is born in April-May; nests with young have been found in November in southeastern U.S. Weaning begins at about 5 weeks. Young begin to disperse at about 11-12 weeks (see Johnson et al. 1993). Females are sexually mature in 3-4 months (in captivity) or usually 2 years in southern Canada (see Johnson et al. 1993), males in about 1 year.
Ecology Comments
Basically solitary, though more social where prey is abundant and habitat optimal. Population density averages 1 per 7-40 acres (Jackson 1961), depending upon habitat and environmental conditions (Baker 1983).
Length
55
Weight
267
Conservation Status
NatureServe Global Status Rank
G5
Global Status Last Reviewed
1996-11-18
Global Status Last Changed
1996-11-18
Distribution
Conservation Status Map
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Global Range
Southern Canada, most all of the contiguous U.S., and south to Venezuela and Bolivia, excluding the southwestern deserts of the U.S. (Wozencraft, in Wilson and Reeder 1993; Sheffield and Thomas 1997).